Kidnap (The Billionaire Series) (27 page)

Reaper’s statement was menacing and final.

Donald’s finger hovered over the panic alarm.

“What do you want?”

“I want to come in,” said Reaper. “And if you press that panic
button, you will have killed your son.”

Donald’s finger jumped away from the button. Saki arrived by his
side, almost as though he had sensed he was needed. Donald quickly explained
the situation. Saki did not
hesitate,
he pressed the
entry button and the gates opened.

The eleven Range Rovers sped through the gates and down the
driveway towards the Main House. Reaper made his way to the front door where
Donald and Saki were waiting. Reaper’s communications man raced past Donald and
found his way to the central security
system which
he
updated so that it would accept the ‘new’ guards. Within two minutes, forty men
were patrolling the Estate, ensuring nobody came in and more importantly,
nobody left.

In the time it had taken for Reaper to reach the house, Rachel
had been made aware of what was happening.
As Reaper walked
into the lounge area, she was crying.
Donald sat next to his wife to
comfort her. Saki sat quietly in the corner of the room.
 

“What do you want?” asked Donald.

“That will become clear but at the moment I just want to settle
in,” responded Reaper.

“So you are Saki?” Reaper turned to Saki and looked at him.

Saki stared back, he recognised the eyes that were looking at
him. They had been clearly described to him by a cripple in Sabah. If it were
not for the fact that this man was holding the key to his most precious
possession, he would have snapped the man’s neck there and then. Fury pulsed
through every vein in his body. This was the man who had planned the
attack which
killed his
Tylanni
.

“Yes,” he responded. His training ensured that none of his
internal rage was evident to anyone else.

“As long as everybody does exactly as we ask, nobody will get
hurt. We will be with you for a few days and then we will leave you in peace,”
announced Reaper to the room, smiling under his mask.

***

Tom made his way back to the cockpit to get Lela. Lela was
crying, rolled up in one of the seats. Chen was playing with some sort of
mobile behind her.

“What are you doing Chen?”

“Hmm nothing. I just found this device on the floor.” As Chen
replied, the device buzzed.

“That’s the noise I’ve been hearing all day…let me see?” Tom
asked.

“It’s nothing. Anyway, what are we going to do about your
parents?” said Chen changing the subject.

“Nothing until I see the device…
.give
me
it!” Tom’s voice became angry.

Lela sat up.

“What’s going on? Chen, just give him the device!”

“OK…here,” Chen threw the device violently at Tom. As he did, his
other hand moved quickly under his shirt to retrieve a pistol taped to his
back.

Lela watched the device fly towards Tom. She could have stopped
it but had noticed Chen’s other hand moving around his body. Lela watched and
as Chen brought his hand around with the pistol, she pounced. She grabbed and
snapped Chen’s wrist before his hand had made it round and the gun fell safely
to the floor.

Tom ducked and the device hit the cabin wall at the same time as
the gun hit the floor. Chen sat
wide eyed
looking at
his hand in its unnatural position.
Lela,
had had enough
and was ready to strike another blow but Tom raced over and suggested that Chen
was not going to do any more damage. Shock had set in and his breathing had
become very laboured, the pain would be intense.

On hearing the commotion, Kano rushed in.

“What happened?”

“It appears that Chen is not who we thought he was,” said Lela.

Chen stared
blankly,
the pain in his
wrist was like nothing he had ever experienced.

“So who is he?”

“Well you heard the question, who are you?” said Lela moving
towards Chen.

Chen flinched. He was a great fighter but Lela had bettered him
without effort. He was still trying to work out what and how she had done it.
He knew when he was beat.

“My real name is Ling.”

“But that’s a girls name,” said Kano.

“I am a girl. Well, actually I am a woman. I am twenty two and
was hired to watch and help capture Tom and Lela.”

Tom heard the slap but did not see it even though he had not
taken his eyes off Ling but her head snapped back and she let out a scream. By
the time he looked over at Lela, she was just standing still with a smug look
on her face.

A tear rolled down Ling’s cheek.

“I made Mia crash into the gate.”

“So who the hell is behind it all and what do they want?”

“I’m afraid I honestly can’t help you. I don’t know the answer to
either of those questions. All I know is that whoever they are, they have lots
of money. I was paid $500,000 up front and was to be paid the same again on
completion.”

“Forgive me for not believing a word you say…bitch!” Lela was
angry and finding it hard to control herself.

“Lela, please. You’re not helping,” said Tom to Lela but turning
to Ling, he said, “As you know, we have access to a lot of money. If you do
know anything that will help us get our parents back, we will pay you very
handsomely.”

“No. I’ve told you all I know.”

“OK, we tried it your way, now mine,” said Kano.

He took Ling by the arm and led her through to the back of the
chopper. Ling panicked and made a bid for the door but was on her back and
being dragged down the cabin before she had moved an inch.

“What is he going to do to her?” Tom asked Lela.

“Nothing. He’s just scaring her. She’ll tell him everything she
knows,
he is a really scary guy. My dad reckons that the
twins were the best two students he ever taught. In fact, it is said they’re
the second and third best on the island.”

“Who’s the best?”

“My dad,” said Lela with pride.

“You never told me that.”

“You never asked.”

“So Saki’s good?”

“No, he’s unbelievable. Nobody comes near him. The twins are the
closest but still some way behind. My dad is regarded as the best there has
been for generations.”

“Wow, the things you find out at the weirdest times,” said Tom.

“I think it’s important you know now that nothing and I mean
nothing will happen to Donald and Rachel while my dad is looking after them. We
must not worry about them. We just need to get there so they know we’re OK.”

Kano came back to the main cabin.

“Nope, she doesn’t know anything else.”

“What did you do?” Tom asked.

“Other than making her wet herself with fear, nothing”

“So where is she now?”

“Tied up tight and going nowhere until someone cuts her free. We
won’t need to worry about her again.”

Tom remembered the device and ran to pick it up. It was some sort
of messaging system. The latest message had not been read. Tom clicked the
button and it opened.

“We are in the house and have control, ensure targets remain
within your sights and await further orders.”

The realisation that the situation was real sank in and Tom’s
legs buckled. Kano moved in an instant, broke Tom’s fall and placed him in one
of the seats.

“Thanks Kano. Is Saki as good as Lela says he is?”

“Tom, he’s the best. Let’s put it this way, the people in most
danger in your parents’ home are the intruders. Don’t worry about your parents
they’ll be fine.”

“OK, so how do we let them know we’re OK?” Tom perked up with the
positive talk.

“Absolutely no idea,” replied Kano.

Chapter
50

Reaper checked his watch. It had been twenty minutes since he had
spoken to Tom. He had just received word that his Apache chopper had run out of
fuel and returned to base. The other helicopter was still in pursuit with eight
soldiers on board. They were about thirty miles behind Tom and Lela but as they
were also in an EH101, they would be unable to catch the targets before they
landed. However, they would be right behind them when they touched down.

Reaper had expected to hear from Tom sooner but thought he would
give him five more minutes. Reaper walked into the
kitchen
which
had become their Operations Hub. The den, just off of the kitchen,
had a wall of
TVs which
were perfect for keeping an
eye on the different news feeds.

“So what now?” Leo asked.

“We just need to find out where they’re going to land. Pieter is
standing
by,
ready to go whenever we get the landing
position. And with the other helicopter hot on their heels, they should get
quite a welcome.”

“Excellent, so we should have them in our hands by…” Leo looked
at his watch “…five hours from now, about 5.00 p.m.”

“Yep.”

“What about the soldiers who are with them?”

“Pieter has three snipers and don’t forget we have Ling on board
so there won’t be a problem.”
 

“What are the parents saying?” asked Leo.

“They want to talk to them of course, but I have told them no
way, they get the kids when we get what we want.”

“Are they buying that?”

“At the moment yes, but we need to get them in our hands soon or
we may have a problem. I don’t think they’ll buy it for two days.”

“Excuse me!” shouted Donald from the adjacent room.

Reaper left Leo and made his way back to the lounge.

“What?”

“Do we have to stay here or can we move around the house?”

“You can do whatever you want, but just be assured you’re not
going anywhere and all communications have been cut. Any calls coming in are
being intercepted by us.”

“But I’m in the middle of a big deal. If I disappear, people will
wonder what’s wrong.”

“Oh, don’t you worry, I know all about your deal. You will be
allowed to work on that. In fact, it’s imperative that you do but not before a
colleague of mine arrives. He’ll be keeping an eye on everything you do. One
slip and the man holding the knife to your son’s
throat,
will let it slip. Understand?”

“Yes, clearly. Is this what this is all about then, the deal?”

“All will become clear.”

“But you took all those schools just because of a business deal?”
Donald had pieced it all together.

“Very clever Mr Kennedy. They said you were a very bright man.
Now be very bright, keep quiet and you’ll get to see your son again.”

“And Lela?” Donald added quickly.

“And Lela, yes. If you want to go to your bedrooms or use the
toilet or watch TV, feel free. My men, however, will be with you. Any silly
moves and the children die. Clear?”

“Yes,” said Rachel quickly, she just wanted Tom and Lela back
unharmed. Saki nodded, as did Donald, resigned to their predicament.

Chapter
51

“So who are we up against and why?” asked
Kisho
.
They all congregated in the cockpit to decide what to do next.

“Not sure but whoever it is, they’re a very big player,” said
Tom. “And I’m guessing that the four schools were taken in order to get the
troops off of our island. That is a massive operation. As to why, no idea but
whatever it is, it obviously involves me and Lela which probably means my dad.”

“Who cares about
that.
What are we going
to do?” asked Lela.

“Can I see the charts?” asked Tom. “The first thing we need to do
is keep them happy and that means telling them where we’re going to land.”

Tom disappeared with
Kisho
into the
main cabin. Kano and Lela were left holding the controls.

“I didn’t know you two could fly helicopters,” said Lela
impressed.

“We can’t, only
Kisho
can. I took the
ground vehicle courses and he took the flight courses.”

“But you’re flying now aren’t you?” she said with panic in her
voice.

“Not really, we’re on autopilot. If anything goes wrong, I’ll call
Kisho
, don’t worry,” he said as reassuringly as he
could.

Lela thought for a moment.

“I can’t believe it, all those children in those schools, all
because of us. You know they’ve killed some of them?” said Lela, the enormity
of the situation hitting her. “We have to do something!”

“I know,” said Kano.

Tom and
Kisho
were poring over the
charts.

“Right. This line signifies how far we can go on the fuel we have
and these are the options open to us,” said Tom pointing out the options.

“Yes, but wherever we tell him we’re going to land, I have a
funny feeling we won’t get a welcoming party,” said
Kisho
.

“I know, so we have to be very clever and be one step ahead,”
said Tom as he began to hatch a plan.

First, he wanted to know what they were up against. This was
actually quite simple. He took out his handheld PC, and his satellite phone and
dialled a number. After five minutes, he had tapped into his home PC. To
Kisho’s
amazement, Tom pulled up the Estate plan from the
security system. Tom was stunned that there were
forty five
blips on the screen, which meant there were forty two men guarding their house.
This was going to be much harder than he had first imagined.

“Forty two. Bloody hell!”
Kisho
exclaimed. “These guys are not messing.”